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MUSIC FEATURE

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here for everyone: a ukelele-driven take on Silent Night more apt for balmy Australian Christmas, banjo hits, a children’s choir, window- shuddering garage-rock, and an updated version

of an Australian Christmas favourite from the gravy-maker himself. Aiming to encompass the diversity of traditions for a southern hemisphere holiday season, Paul Kelly’s Christmas Train welcomes everyone into the family.

DARREN CRISS AVery Darren Crissmas

MERRY MELODIES THE BEST OF THE NEW CHRISTMAS CROP Yes, there'll always be a seat at the table for the usual Christmas jams (looking at you, Mariah Carey and Michael Bublé). But consider these titles, just added to the festive canon! Be sure to read the full article online at stack.com.au. Words Jake Cleland

Straying off the beaten

path, American Crime Story ’s Darren Criss sets his sights on lesser known mid-century classics. Stylistically set to make your December mornings feel like a

snow-besieged speakeasy, Criss’s jazzy spin around (Everybody’s Waitin’ For) The Man With The Bag is a high-energy highlight, but the album finds its feet in soulful, downtempo crooners that bring out the full sentimentality of the season.

ROBTHOMAS Something About ChristmasTime

because she’s putting it out again for 2021. Only this time, she’s bolting an EP’s worth of brand new pull-up-the-covers, from a massive version of Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) to

KELLY CLARKSON When Christmas Comes Around

The sombre scribe behind such melancholy lines as “It’s 3am, I must be lonely” turns out a genuinely moving combo

Christmas Isn’t Canceled (Just You) is surely the funniest Christmas song title of the year. A propulsive romp through all the things you’re gonna do for yourself this year, it’s

following the Ronettes tradition of Frosty the Snowman . The highlight is Delta wildin’ out on the swaggerific Sleigh Ride, ad-libbing a heels-off shout of “It’s Christmas, baby!” before holding a crystal-shattering vocal run for the outro. Love to hear you having fun, Delts.

of new hits and classics. Pop on chilling ballad NewYear’s Day , the album’s centerpiece, and try not to have a moment as Thomas feels the year past evaporate like tears in the rain. This, right after rousing anthem Small Town Christmas , feels positively rude. If most Christmas albums are meant to give you something to sing with the family at the grocery store, Thomas’s Christmas sounds distinctly more solitary. If you asked Santa to have your heartstrings pulled this year, Thomas has delivered. DELTA GOODREM Only Santa Knows (Deluxe Edition) Last year I said Delta Goodrem’s Only Santa Knows “might be the last Christmas album you’ll ever need.” On some level she must agree,

a spirited pledge to be your own Santa baby. A more conventional selector than some of her compatriots on this list, Clarkson nevertheless brings her immense vocal power to bear on favourites like Jingle Bell Rock and Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree , and even lets her equally throaty contemporary Ariana Grande on for a song with Santa Can’t You Hear Me . A straight down the line good time.

PAUL KELLY Paul Kelly’s ChristmasTrain

All aboard folks, and I reckon Paul Kelly means “all”. What could be more apt for a Christmas album than embodying the spirit of ecumenicism, musically and otherwise? Sprawling 22 songs and just about as many genres and styles, Christmas Train reflects the talents and career of a man who’s spent twice that many Christmases in the music industry. There’s something

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THE TESKEY BROTHERS WITH ORCHESTRA VICTORIA Live at Hamer Hall

The Teskey Brothers along with Orchestra Victoria release their acclaimed 2020 Christmas performance, Live at Hamer Hall , whereby the ARIA- winning, Grammy-nominated group’s songs were spectacularly reimagined and performed live onstage at the iconic Melbourne venue. Out now.

XX XXXXX 2021

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